Ontario Women’s Justice Network

Understanding the Legal System

Ontario’s Domestic Violence Court (DVC) is a special program for handling domestic violence cases in the criminal justice system. The Domestic Violence Courts try to simplify the prosecution of domestic assault cases, provide more support to victims, increase offender responsibility, and provide early intervention. The program was started around 1996.

The Integrated Domestic Violence (IDV) Court was created in Toronto in 2011 to deal with both family law and domestic violence (criminal law) cases. The IDV Court hears certain types of family law cases and domestic violence cases on the same day and in the same courtroom with one judge.

If you have survived abuse and want to get custody of your children or want to separate or get a divorce from your abuser, these and other matters involving family are dealt with in the family law system.This article will give you basicinformation about the family law system and how to navigate it.

This information is for women who have survived crimes like sexual assault (rape or any other unwanted sex acts, like touching or grabbing), assault (hitting, beating, etc.), the threat of assault, or criminal harassment (stalking). These crimes are dealt with through the criminal law system.

There are different levels and types of courts in Canada – they differ in their jurisdiction, that is, what issues they have the authority to decide. Our Constitution has divided powers over the court system between the federal and the provincial and territorial governments.

This section will give you an outline of Canada’s legal system. It is important to understand how the law works and what your rights are under the law so that you can better protect yourself and your children from harm.

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Information on OWJN is not legal advice

OWJN contains general legal information only. OWJN does not give legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should contact a lawyer, who can help you make decisions about your legal rights. You may be eligible for legal advice from a community Legal Aid clinic.